GR 95575; (December, 1991) (Digest)
G.R. No. 95575 , December 23, 1991
FROILAN A. MENDEZ, petitioner, vs. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION and REGISTER OF DEEDS OF QUEZON CITY, respondents.
FACTS
Acting Register of Deeds Vicente N. Coloyan filed an administrative complaint for Gross Misconduct and Dishonesty against petitioner Froilan A. Mendez, a legal research assistant, alleging he tore off a portion of a Transfer Certificate of Title from the registry book. After investigation, Quezon City Mayor Adelina Rodriguez dismissed the complaint against Mendez for insufficiency of evidence.
Coloyan appealed the Mayor’s decision to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which reversed the exoneration, found Mendez guilty, and ordered his dismissal. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) affirmed this decision. Mendez moved for reconsideration, arguing Coloyan, as the complainant, was not a party authorized to appeal an exoneration under the law.
ISSUE
Whether the complainant, Vicente N. Coloyan, had the legal right to appeal the decision of the Quezon City Mayor which exonerated the respondent, Froilan A. Mendez, from the administrative charges.
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the petition, annulling the CSC decision and reinstating the Mayor’s exoneration. The right to appeal is a statutory privilege governed strictly by law. Section 39(a) of P.D. 807 (The Civil Service Law) states that appeals may be made by “the party adversely affected by the decision.” The Court held this phrase refers specifically to the government employee who stands to be penalized, not the complainant.
Since the Mayor’s decision exonerated Mendez, he was not adversely affected. Coloyan, as the mere complainant, did not possess the legal personality to appeal because he was not the respondent facing disciplinary action. Furthermore, Section 37 of P.D. 807, which outlines appealable disciplinary actions involving penalties like dismissal or suspension, by implication does not contemplate an appeal from a decision of exoneration. Thus, the MSPB and CSC acted without jurisdiction in entertaining Coloyan’s appeal.